Search results for: excess pore water pressure

Authors: Sara Seddiki, Maazouzi Abdelhak

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The main objective of this modest work is to follow the physicochemical and bacteriological evolution of the wastewater from the town of Bechar subjected to purification by filtration according to various local supports, namely Sable and Terrill by reducing nuisances that undergo the receiving environment (Oued Bechar) and therefore make this water source reusable in different areas. The study first made it possible to characterize the urban wastewater of the Bechar wadi, which presents an environmental threat, thus allowing an estimation of the pollutant load, the chemical oxygen demand COD (145 mg / l) and the biological oxygen demand BOD5 (72 mg / l) revealed that these waters are less biodegradable (COD / BOD5 ratio = 0.62), have a fairly high conductivity (2.76 mS/cm), and high levels of mineral matter presented by chlorides and sulphates 390 and 596.1 mg / l respectively, with a pH of 8.1. The characterization of the sand dune (Beni Abbes) shows that quartz (97%) is the most present mineral. The granular analysis allowed us to determine certain parameters like the uniformity coefficient (CU) and the equivalent diameter, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations and X-ray analysis were performed. The study of filtered wastewater shows satisfactory and very encouraging treatment results, with complete elimination of total coliforms and streptococci and a good reduction of total aerobic germs in the sand and clay-sand filter. A good yield has been reported in the sand Terrill filter for the reduction of turbidity. The rates of reduction of organic matter in terms of the biological oxygen demand, in chemical oxygen demand recorded, are of the order of 60%. The elimination of sulphates is 40% for the sand filter.

Keywords: urban wastewater, filtration, bacteriological and physicochemical parameters, sand, Terrill, Oued Bechar

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Authors: Danilo G. De Quadros

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Biofuels are a priority in the renewable energy agenda. The utilization of tropical grasses to ethanol production is a real opportunity to Brazil reaches the world’s leadership in biofuels production because there are 100 million hectares of sown pastures, which represent 20% of all land and 80% of agricultural areas. Basically, nowadays tropical grasses are used to raise livestock. The results obtained in this research could bring tremendous advance not only to national technology and economy but also to improve social and environmental aspects. Thus, the objective of this work was to estimate, through well-established international models, the potential of biofuels production using sown tropical pastures as feedstocks and to compare the results with sugarcane ethanol, considering state-of-art of conversion technology, advantages and limitations factors. There were used data from national and international literature about forage yield and biochemical conversion yield. Some scenarios were studied to evaluate potential advantages and limitations for cellulosic ethanol production, since non-food feedstock appeal to conversion strategies, passing through harvest, densification, logistics, environmental impacts (carbon and water cycles, nutrient recycling and biodiversity), and social aspects. If Brazil used only 1% of sown pastures to ethanol production by biochemical pathway, with average dry matter yield of 15 metric tons per hectare per year (there are results of 40 tons), resulted annually in 721 billion liters, that represents 10 times more than sugarcane ethanol projected by the Government in 2030. However, more research is necessary to take the results to commercial scale with competitive costs, considering many strategies and methods applied in ethanol production using cellulosic feedstock.

Keywords: biofuels, biochemical pathway, cellulosic ethanol, sustainability

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Authors: Md. Kumruzzaman, Anutosh Das, Md. Mosharraf Hossain

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Historically, rapid urban growth activities are considered one of the main culprits behind urban floods or waterlogging. The increased unplanned urbanization of many areas of Dhaka has resulted in waterlogging, urban floods, and increasing groundwater depth. To determine potential groundwater recharge from precipitation, the study is being conducted to examine the changes in land use/land cover (LULC) and urban runoff extent based on the NRCS-CN from 2005–2021. Four kinds of land use are used to examine the LULC change: built-up, bare land, vegetation, and water body. These categories are used for the years 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2021. The built-up area is growing at a relatively fast rate: 7.43%, 17.4%, and 5.21%, respectively, between the years 2005 and 2010, 2010 and 2015, and 2015 and 2021. As the amount of impervious surface rose in Dhaka city, stormwater discharge increased from 2005 to 2021. In 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2021, heavy stormwater runoff regions made up around 24.873%, 32.616%, 49.118%, and 55.986% of the entire Dhaka city. Stormwater runoff accounted for around 53.738%, 55.092%, 63.472%, and 67.061% of the total rainfall in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2021, respectively. Between 2005 and 2021, a significant portion of the natural land cover was altered because of the expanding impervious surface, which also harmed the natural drainage system. Due to careless growth, the potential for stormwater runoff and groundwater recharge in Dhaka city worsens every year. Concerning this situation, a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) can be the best possible solution for minimizing the stormwater runoff and groundwater recharge problem.

Keywords: LULC, impervious surface, stormwater runoff, groundwater recharge, SUDS

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Przemyslaw Nogly, Tobias Weinert, Daniel James, Sergio Carbajo, Dmitry Ozerov, Antonia Furrer, Dardan Gashi, Veniamin Borin, Petr Skopintsev, Kathrin Jaeger, Karol Nass, Petra Bath, Robert Bosman, Jason Koglin, Matthew Seaberg, Thomas Lane, Demet Kekilli, Steffen Brünle, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Wenting Wu, Christopher Milne, Thomas A. White, Anton Barty, Uwe Weierstall, Valerie Panneels, Eriko Nango, So Iwata, Mark Hunter, Igor Schapiro, Gebhard Schertler, Richard Neutze, Jörg Standfuss

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Ultrafast isomerization of retinal is the primary step in a range of photoresponsive biological functions including vision in humans and ion-transport across bacterial membranes. We studied the sub-picosecond structural dynamics of retinal isomerization in the light-driven proton pump bacteriorhodopsin using an X-ray laser. Twenty snapshots with near-atomic spatial and temporal resolution in the femtosecond regime show how the excited all-trans retinal samples conformational states within the protein binding pocket prior to passing through a highly-twisted geometry and emerging in the 13-cis conformation. The aspartic acid residues and functional water molecules in proximity of the retinal Schiff base respond collectively to formation and decay of the initial excited state and retinal isomerization. These observations reveal how the protein scaffold guides this remarkably efficient photochemical reaction.

Keywords: bacteriorhodopsin, free-electron laser, retinal isomerization mechanism, time-resolved crystallography

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Suresh B. Shinde

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The present paper examined the selective fictional works of the Indian writers in the Marathi language which reflects the gradual erosion of sexual repression of modern women characters. Furthermore, the study employed the attitudinal survey method to counter check the fictional reality of the Indian women in real life in the modern era. The Indian writers in an early stage from the pre and post-independence period pictured the women characters such as sexually suppressed and adherence to male sexual dominance. Gangadhar Gadgil a ‘Sahitya Akademi’ award winner writer in his story ‘Ek Manus’ shown that a husband, abnormally exploited her wife. G. A. Kulkarni a ‘Sahitya Akademi’ award winner writer shown that a young lady character suppressed her proposal of marriage with she loved due to the social pressure and conventions. Arvind Gokhale and Kamal Desai have also pictured lady characters who suppressed their sexual urges even they were highly educated. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, the trends of Marathi literature is dramatically changed accordingly the women fictions. Gouri Deshpande, the popular story writer, penetrates modern woman very clearly. Two lady characters are living happily together accepting revolts of society for a sexual relationship. Meghna Pethe, another well-known writer in her story, depicts a women character who was lived with her friend as live-in-relationship and enjoying the erotic sex. How so far, it was seen that the pre and post-independence women fictions are gradually changed regarding her sexually urges. This reality leads to design the survey research design in which 100 college girls and 100 middle-aged women were surveyed with sexual attitude scale and feminist identity test. It was hypothesized that the today's college girls would higher on sexual attitude and feminist identity than middle-aged women. Moreover, it was also assumed that sexual attitude and feminist identity would have a strong positive correlation. The obtained data analyzed through Students’ test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The results reveal that the today's college girls are having a high level of sexual attitude and feminist identity than middle-aged women. Results also reveal that sexual attitude and feminist identity have a strongest positive correlation. How so far the survey research has provided the reality ground to the modern women in Indian fictions in Marathi literature. The findings of the research have been discussed accordingly the gender equality as well as psychological perspectives.

Keywords: sexual repression, women in Indian fictions, sexual attitude, feminist perspectives

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Authors: Juang R. Matangaran, Qi Adlan

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Industrial plantation forest in Indonesia was developed in 1983, and since then, several companies have been successfully planted a total area of concessionaire approximately 10 million hectares. Currently, these plantation forests have their annual harvesting period. In the timber harvesting process, amount part of the trees generally become logging residue. Tree parts such as branches, twigs, defected stem and leaves are unused section of tree on the ground after timber harvesting. The use of heavy machines in timber harvesting area has caused damage to the forest soil. The negative impact of such machines includes loss of topsoil, soil erosion, and soil compaction. Forest soil compaction caused reduction of forest water infiltration, increase runoff and causes difficulty for root penetration. In this study, we used logging residue as soil covers on the passages passed by skidding machines in order to observe the reduction soil compaction. Bulk density of soil was measured and analyzed after several times of skidding machines passage on skid trail. The objective of the research was to analyze the effect of logging residue on reducing soil compaction. The research was taken place at one of the industrial plantation forest area of South Sumatra Indonesia. The result of the study showed that percentage increase of soil compaction bare soil was larger than soil surface covered by logging residue. The maximum soil compaction occurred after 4 to 5 passes on soil without logging residue or bare soil and after 7 to 8 passes on soil cover by logging residue. The use of logging residue coverings could reduce soil compaction from 45% to 60%. The logging residue was effective in decreasing soil disturbance of timber harvesting at the plantation forest area.

Keywords: bulk density, logging residue, plantation forest, soil compaction, timber harvesting

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Authors: Oluseun A. Akinsorotan, Louise K. Gentle, Md. Mofakkarul Islam, Richard W. Yarnell

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High levels of anthropogenic activity such as habitat destruction, poaching and encroachment into natural habitat have resulted in significant global wildlife declines. In order to protect wildlife, many protected areas such as national parks have been created. However, it is argued that many protected areas are only protected in name and are often exposed to continued, and often illegal, anthropogenic pressure. In West African protected areas, declines of large mammals have been documented between 1962 and 2008. This study aimed to produce occupancy estimates of the remaining large mammal fauna in the third largest National Park in Nigeria, Old Oyo, and to compare the estimates with historic estimates while also attempting to quantify levels of illegal anthropogenic activity using a multi-disciplinary approach. Large mammal populations and levels of illegal anthropogenic activity were assessed using empirical field data (camera trapping and transect surveys) in combination with data from questionnaires completed by local villagers and park rangers. Four of the historically recorded species in the park, lion (Panthera leo), hunting dog (Lycaon pictus), elephant (Loxodonta africana) and buffalo (Syncerus caffer) were not detected during field studies nor were they reported by respondents. In addition, occupancy estimates of hunters and illegal grazers were higher than the majority of large mammal species inside the park. This finding was reinforced by responses from the villagers and rangers who’s perception was that large mammal densities in the park were declining, and that a large proportion of the local people were entering the park to hunt wild animals and graze their domestic livestock. Our findings also suggest that widespread poverty and a lack of alternative livelihood opportunities, culture of consuming bushmeat, lack of education and awareness of the value of protected areas, and weak law enforcement are some of the reasons for the illegal activity. Law enforcement authorities were often constrained by insufficient on-site personnel and a lack of modern equipment and infrastructure to deter illegal activities. We conclude that there is a need to address the issue of illegal hunting and livestock grazing, via provision of alternative livelihoods, in combination with community outreach programmes that aim to improve conservation education and awareness and develop the capacity of the conservation authorities in order to achieve conservation goals. Our findings have implications for the conservation management of all protected areas that are available for exploitation by local communities.

Keywords: camera trapping, conservation, extirpation, illegal grazing, large mammals, national park, occupancy estimates, poaching

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Authors: E. Chávez-Vargas, M. de la L. Olvera-Amador, A. Jimenez-Gonzalez, A. Maldonado

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Undoped and fluorine doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on sodocalcic glass substrates by the ultrasonic chemical spray technique. As the main goal is the manufacturing of transparent electrodes, the effects of both the solution composition and the substrate temperature on both the electrical and optical properties of ZnO thin films were studied. As a matter of fact, the effect of fluorine concentration ([F]/[F+Zn] at. %), solvent composition (acetic acid, water, methanol ratios) and ageing time, regarding solution composition, were varied. In addition, the substrate temperature and the deposition time, regarding the chemical spray technique, were also varied. Structural studies confirm the deposition of polycrystalline, hexagonal, wurtzite type, ZnO. The results show that the increase of ([F]/[F+Zn] at. %) ratio in the solution, decreases the sheet resistance, RS, of the ZnO:F films, reaching a minimum, in the order of 1.6 Ωcm, at 60 at. %; further increase in the ([F]/[F+Zn]) ratio increases the RS of the films. The same trend occurs with the variation in substrate temperature, as a minimum RS of ZnO:F thin films was encountered when deposited at TS= 450 °C. ZnO:F thin films deposited with aged solution show a significant decrease in the RS in the order of 100 ΩS. The transmittance of the films was also favorable affected by the solvent ratio and, more significantly, by the ageing of the solution. The whole evaluation of optical and electrical characteristics of the ZnO:F thin films deposited under different conditions, was done under Haacke’s figure of Merit in order to have a clear and quantitative trend as transparent conductors application.

Keywords: zinc oxide, ZnO:F, TCO, Haacke’s figure of Merit

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Authors: Said Belaaouad

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This study aimed to explore the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) of 1,2,4-Triazine-3(2H)-one derivative as a potential anticancer agent against breast cancer. The electronic descriptors were obtained using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) method, and a multiple linear regression techniques was employed to construct the QSAR model. The model exhibited favorable statistical parameters, including R2=0.849, R2adj=0.656, MSE=0.056, R2test=0.710, and Q2cv=0.542, indicating its reliability. Among the descriptors analyzed, absolute electronegativity (χ), total energy (TE), number of hydrogen bond donors (NHD), water solubility (LogS), and shape coefficient (I) were identified as influential factors. Furthermore, leveraging the validated QSAR model, new derivatives of 1,2,4-Triazine-3(2H)-one were designed, and their activity and pharmacokinetic properties were estimated. Subsequently, molecular docking (MD) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to assess the binding affinity of the designed molecules. The Tubulin colchicine binding site, which plays a crucial role in cancer treatment, was chosen as the target protein. Through the simulation trajectory spanning 100 ns, the binding affinity was calculated using the MMPBSA script. As a result, fourteen novel Tubulin-colchicine inhibitors with promising pharmacokinetic characteristics were identified. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the QSAR of 1,2,4-Triazine-3(2H)-one derivative as potential anticancer agent, along with the design of new compounds and their assessment through molecular docking and dynamics simulations targeting the Tubulin-colchicine binding site.

Keywords: QSAR, molecular docking, ADMET, 1, 2, 4-triazin-3(2H)-ones, breast cancer, anticancer, molecular dynamic simulations, MMPBSA calculation

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Authors: Kusay Wheib, Alexandra Krvchenko

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Crop yields are influenced by many factors, including natural ones, such as soil and environmental characteristics of the agricultural land, as well as manmade ones, such as management applications. One of the factors that frequently affect crop yields in undulating Midwest landscapes is topography, which controls the movement of water and nutrients necessary for plant life. The main objective of this study is to examine how field topography influences performance of different management practices in undulated terrain of southwest Michigan. A total of 26 agricultural fields, ranging in size from 1.1 to 7.4 ha, from the Scale-Up at Kellogg Biological Station were included in the study. The two studied factors were crop species with three levels, i.e., corn (Zea mays L.) soybean (Glycine max L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and management practice with three levels, i.e., conventional, low input, and organic managements. They were compared under three contrasting topographical settings, namely, summit (includes summits and shoulders), slope (includes backslopes), and depression (includes footslope and toeslope). Yield data of years 2007 through 2012 was processed, cleaned, and filtered, average yield then was calculated for each field, topographic setting, and year. Topography parameters, including terrain, slope, curvature, flow direction and wetness index were computed under ArcGIS environment for each topographic class of each field to seek their effects on yield. Results showed that topographical depressions produced greatest yields in most studied fields, while managements with chemical inputs, both low input and conventional, resulted in higher yields than the organic management.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture, precision agriculture, topography, yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Mustafa Kucukoduk, Evren Yildiztugay, A. Hediye Sekmen, Ismail Turkan, Yavuz Bagci

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In this study, physiological and biochemical responses of Centaurea tuzgoluensis, a Turkish endemic halophyte, to salinity were studied. Therefore, the changes in shoot growth, leaf relative water content (RWC), ion concentrations, lipid peroxidation, hydroxyl (OH.) radical scavenging activity, proline (Pro) content, and antioxidant system [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR)] were investigated. The 60 days (d) old C. tuzgoluensis seedlings were subjected to 0, 150 and 300 mM NaCl for 7 d and 14 d. The relative shoot growth was generally did not change in the 150 mM NaCl, but reduced with 300 mM NaCl stress at 7 d and 14 d. RWC was higher in 150 mM NaCl-treated leaves than that of 300 mM NaCl. Salinity decreased K+/Na+ ratio, but increased Na+, Cl, Ca+2 and Na+/Cl ratio in the leaves. On the other hand, it did not change or increase the K+ content at 150 and 300 mM NaCl, respectively. MDA content in the 150 and 300 mM NaCl-treated leaves remained close to control at 7 d. This was related to enhanced activities of SOD, CAT, APX and GR enzymes, and their isoenzymes especially Fe-SOD in the leaves. On the other hand, the higher sensitivity to 300 mM NaCl at 14 d was associated with inadequate increase in antioxidant enzymes and the decreased OH radical scavenging activity. All these results suggest that C. tuzgoluensis has different antioxidant metabolisms between short- (7 d) and long-term (14 d) salt treatments and salinity tolerance of C. tuzgoluensis might be closely related to increased capacity of antioxidative system to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and accumulation of osmoprotectant proline under salinity conditions.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes, endemic halophyte, ion exchange, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant, enzymes, endemic halophyte, ion exchange, lipid peroxidation, proline, Centaurea tuzgoluensis

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Authors: A. Sadowska, R. Polaniak, P. Boczarski, E. Grochowska-Niedworok

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Working in a shopping center 12 hours a day as a shop assistant is a very demanding and stressful job, which is still underestimated. Proper eating habits, including recommended fruits, vegetables, products rich in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and proper hydration, can contribute to improvement in health and make shop assistants more resistant to stress. The aim of this study was to analyze the eating habits of shop assistants working in shopping centers 12 hours a day. Participant 101 sellers from Poland filled out authorial surveys. Nearly 50% of participants consumed the recommended number of 4 to 5 meals per day. There was a slight dependence between the number of meals consumed per day and the time that employers allowed for employee mealtimes. Respondents declared that they engaged in snacking, and they generally chose fruit, chocolates, and other sweets. Survey results indicated a low liquid intake, which was about 1,05 liters daily. Mineral water was chosen most often (63%) by participants. Participant fish consumption was very low in comparison with the norms, which can pose a risk of developing omega-3 fatty acids deficiency. Shop assistants stated that a change in their eating habits was necessary. Study findings suggest a moderate dependence between being on a diet and counting calories and macronutrients contained in meals. The number of meals eaten per day is correlated with the number of meals eaten at the worksite. The percentage of snacking by shop assistants was so high that it suggested a need for more nutrition education. The topic of eating habits among shop assistants should be examined using a larger group of participants. It is necessary to note a connection between nutrition and health problems.

Keywords: eating habits, work during 12 hours a day, shopping center, nutrition

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Authors: M. I. Equbal, R. K. Ohdar, B. Singh, P. Talukdar

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Micro-alloyed steel components are used in automotive industry for the necessity to make the manufacturing process cycles shorter when compared to conventional steel by eliminating heat treatment cycles, so an important saving of costs and energy can be reached by reducing the number of operations. Micro-alloying elements like vanadium, niobium or titanium have been added to medium carbon steels to achieve grain refinement with or without precipitation strengthening along with uniform microstructure throughout the matrix. Present study reports the applicability of medium carbon vanadium micro-alloyed steel in hot forging. Forgeability has been determined with respect to different cooling rates, after forging in a hydraulic press at 50% diameter reduction in temperature range of 900-11000C. Final microstructures, hardness, tensile strength, and impact strength have been evaluated. The friction coefficients of different lubricating conditions, viz., graphite in hydraulic oil, graphite in furnace oil, DF 150 (Graphite, Water-Based) die lubricant and dry or without any lubrication were obtained from the ring compression test for the above micro-alloyed steel. Results of ring compression tests indicate that graphite in hydraulic oil lubricant is preferred for free forging and dry lubricant is preferred for die forging operation. Exceptionally good forgeability and high resistance to fracture, especially for faster cooling rate has been observed for fine equiaxed ferrite-pearlite grains, some amount of bainite and fine precipitates of vanadium carbides and carbonitrides. The results indicated that the cooling rate has a remarkable effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties at room temperature.

Keywords: cooling rate, hot forging, micro-alloyed, ring compression

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Fatma Koksal Çakirlar, Si̇nem Ozdemir, Selcan Akyol, Revazi̇ye Gulesen, Murat Gunaydin, Nevri̇ye Gonullu, Belkis Levent, Nuri̇ Kiraz

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Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139 are the causative agent of epidemic or pandemic cholera. V. cholerae O1 is generally accepted as a non-invasive enterotoxigenic organism causing gastroenteritis of various severities. Non-O1 V. cholerae can cause small outbreaks of diarrhea due to consumption of contaminated food and water. Particularly, the patients with achlorydria have a risk for vibrio infections. There are numerous case reports of bacteremia caused by vibrio in patients with predisposing conditions like cirrhosis, nephrotic syndrome, diabetes, hematologic malignancy, gastrectomy, and AIDS. We described in this study the first case of nontoxigenic, non-01/non-O139 V. cholerae isolated from the blood culture of a 77-year-old female patient with hipertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, gout and about 9 years ago migrated breast cancer history. The patient with complaints of shortness of breath, fever and malaise admitted to our emergency clinic were evaluated. There was no diarrhea or abdominal symptoms in the patient. No growth in her urine culture, but blood culture (BACTEC 9120 system, Becton Dickinson, USA) was positive for non-01/non-O139 V. cholerae that was identified by conventional methods and Phoenix automated system (BD Diagnostic Systems, Sparks, MD). It does not secrete the cholera toxin. The agglutination test was negative with polyvalent O1 antisera and O139 antiserum. Empirically ceftriaxone was administered to the patient and she was discharged with improvement in general condition. In this study we report bacteremia by non-01/non-O139 V. cholerae that is rare in the worldwide and first in Turkey.

Keywords: bacteremia, blood culture, immunocompromised patient, Non-O1 vibrio cholerae

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Authors: Natia Jalagonia, Jimsher Maisuradze, Karlo Barbakadze, Tinatin Kuchukhidze

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At present intensive scientific researches of ceramics, cermets and metal alloys have been conducted for improving materials physical-mechanical characteristics. In purpose of increasing impact strength of ceramics based on alumina, simple method of graphene homogenization was developed. Homogeneous distribution of graphene (homogenization) in pressing composite became possible through the connection of functional groups of graphene oxide (-OH, -COOH, -O-O- and others) and alumina superficial OH groups with aluminum organic compounds. These two components connect with each other with -O-Al–O- bonds, and by their thermal treatment (300–500°C), graphene and alumina phase are transformed. Thus, choosing of aluminum organic compounds for modification is stipulated by the following opinion: aluminum organic compounds fragments fixed on graphene and alumina finally are transformed into an integral part of the matrix. By using of other elements as modifier on the matrix surface (Al2O3) other phases are transformed, which change sharply physical-mechanical properties of ceramic composites, for this reason, effect caused by the inclusion of graphene will be unknown. Fixing graphene fragments on alumina surface by alumoorganic compounds result in new type graphene-alumina complex, in which these two components are connected by C-O-Al bonds. Part of carbon atoms in graphene oxide are in sp3 hybrid state, so functional groups (-OH, -COOH) are located on both sides of graphene oxide layer. Aluminum organic compound reacts with graphene oxide at the room temperature, and modified graphene oxide is obtained: R2Al-O-[graphene]–COOAlR2. Remaining Al–C bonds also reacts rapidly with surface OH groups of alumina. In a result of these process, pressing powdery composite [Al2O3]-O-Al-O-[graphene]–COO–Al–O–[Al2O3] is obtained. For the purpose, graphene oxide suspension in dry toluene have added alumoorganic compound Al(iC4H9)3 in toluene with equimolecular ratio. Obtained suspension has put in the flask and removed solution in a rotary evaporate presence nitrogen atmosphere. Obtained powdery have been researched and used to consolidation of ceramic materials based on alumina. Ceramic composites are obtained in high temperature vacuum furnace with different temperature and pressure conditions. Received ceramics do not have open pores and their density reaches 99.5 % of TD. During the work, the following devices have been used: High temperature vacuum furnace OXY-GON Industries Inc (USA), device of spark-plasma synthesis, induction furnace, Electronic Scanning Microscopes Nikon Eclipse LV 150, Optical Microscope NMM-800TRF, Planetary mill Pulverisette 7 premium line, Shimadzu Dynamic Ultra Micro Hardness Tester DUH-211S, Analysette 12 Dynasizer and others.

Keywords: graphene oxide, alumo-organic, ceramic

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Authors: Violina Angelova, Mariana Perifanova-Nemska, Krasimir Ivanov

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The aim of this research was to investigate the potential for the use of Ricinus communis L. (castor oil plant) to remediate metal-polluted sites. This study was performed in industrially polluted soils containing high concentrations of Zn, Pb and Cd, situated at different distances (0.3, 2.0 and 15.0 km) from the source of pollution - the Non-Ferrous Metal Works near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. On reaching commercial ripeness, the castor oil plants were gathered and the contents of heavy metals in their different parts – roots, stems, leaves and seeds, were determined after dry ashing. Physico-chemical characterization, total, DTPA extractable and water-soluble metals in rhizospheric soil samples were carried. Translocation factors (TFs) were also determined. The quantitative measurements were carried out with ICP. A soxhlet extraction was used for the extraction of the oil, using hexane as solvent. The oil was recovered by simple distillation of the solvent. The residual oil obtained was investigated for physicochemical parameters and fatty acid composition. Bioaccumulation factor and translocation factor values (BAF and TF > 1) were greater than one suggesting efficient accumulation in the shoot. The castor oil plant may be preferred as a good candidate for phytoremediation (phytoextraction). These results indicate that R. communis has good potential for removing Pb from contaminated soils attributed to its fast growth, high biomass, strong absorption and accumulation for Pb. The concentrations of heavy metals in the oil were low as seed coats accumulated the highest concentrations of Cd and Pb. In addition, the result of the fatty acid composition analysis confirms the oil to be of good quality and can be used for industrial purposes such as cosmetics, soaps and paint.

Keywords: castor bean, heavy metals, phytoremediation, polluted soils

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Authors: Y. Hajjam, I. T. Alami, S. M. Udupa, S. Cherkaoui

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Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important food legume crop in Morocco. It is mainly used as human food and feed for animals. Faba bean also plays an important role in cereal-based cropping systems, when rotated with cereals it improves soil fertility by fixing N2 in root nodules mediated by Rhizobium. Both faba bean and its biological nitrogen fixation symbiotic bacterium Rhizobium are affected by different stresses such as: salinity, drought, pH, heavy metal, and the uptake of inorganic phosphate compounds. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the phenotypic diversity among the faba bean rhizobial isolates and to select the tolerant strains that can fix N2 under environmental constraints for inoculation particularly for affected soils, in order to enhance the productivity of faba bean and to improve soil fertility. Result have shown that 62% of isolates were fast growing with the ability of producing acids compounds , while 38% of isolates are slow growing with production of alkalins. Moreover, 42.5% of these isolates were able to solubilize inorganic phosphate Ca3(PO4)2 and the index of solubilization was ranged from 2.1 to 3.0. The resistance to extreme pH, temperature, water stress heavy metals and antibiotics lead us to classify rhizobial isolates into different clusters. Finally, the authentication test under greenhouse conditions showed that 55% of the rhizobial isolates could induce nodule formation on faba bean (Vicia faba L.) under greenhouse experiment. This phenotypic characterization may contribute to improve legumes and non legumes crops especially in affected soils and also to increase agronomic yield in the dry areas.

Keywords: rhizobia, vicia faba, phenotypic characterization, nodule formation, environmental constraints

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Authors: Revalin Herdianto

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Recent climate changes increase uncertainties in vegetation conditions such as health and biomass globally and locally. The detection is, however, difficult due to the spatial and temporal scale of vegetation coverage. Due to unique vegetation response to its environmental conditions such as water availability, the interplay between vegetation dynamics and hydrologic conditions leave a signature in their feedback relationship. Vegetation indices (VI) depict vegetation biomass and photosynthetic capacity that indicate vegetation dynamics as a response to variables including hydrologic conditions and microclimate factors such as rainfall characteristics and land surface temperature (LST). It is hypothesized that the signature may be depicted by VI in its relationship with other variables. To study this signature, several catchments in Asia, Australia, and Indonesia were analysed to assess the variations in hydrologic characteristics with vegetation types. Methods used in this study includes geographic identification and pixel marking for studied catchments, analysing time series of VI and LST of the marked pixels, smoothing technique using Savitzky-Golay filter, which is effective for large area and extensive data. Time series of VI, LST, and rainfall from satellite and ground stations coupled with digital elevation models were analysed and presented. This study found that the hydrologic response of vegetation to rainfall variations may be shown in one hydrologic year, in which a drought event can be detected a year later as a suppressed growth. However, an annual rainfall of above average do not promote growth above average as shown by VI. This technique is found to be a robust and tractable approach for assessing catchment dynamics in changing climates.

Keywords: vegetation indices, land surface temperature, vegetation dynamics, catchment

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Authors: Supakij Saisopon

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The process of economic development incurs spatial transformation. This spatial alternation also causes environmental impacts, leading to higher pollution. In the case of Thailand, there is still a lack of price-endogenous quantitative analysis incorporating relationships among economic growth, land-use change, and environmental impact. Therefore, this paper aimed at developing the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model with the capability of stimulating such mutual effects. The developed CGE model has also incorporated the nested constant elasticity of transformation (CET) structure that describes the spatial redistribution mechanism between agricultural land and urban area. The simulation results showed that the 1% decrease in the availability of agricultural land lowers the value-added of agricultural by 0.036%. Similarly, the 1% reduction of availability of urban areas can decrease the value-added of manufacturing and service sectors by 0.05% and 0.047%, respectively. Moreover, the outcomes indicate that the increasing farming and urban areas induce higher volumes of solid waste, wastewater, and air pollution. Specifically, the 1% increase in the urban area can increase pollution as follows: (1) the solid waste increase by 0.049%, (2) water pollution ̶ indicated by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) value ̶ increase by 0.051% and (3) air pollution ̶ indicated by the volumes of CO₂, N₂O, NOₓ, CH₄, and SO₂ ̶ increase within the range of 0.045%–0.051%. With the simulation for exploring the sustainable development path, a 1% increase in agricultural land use efficiency leads to the shrinking demand for agricultural land. But this is not happening in urban, a 1% scale increase in urban utilization results in still increasing demand for land. Therefore, advanced clean production technology is necessary to align the increasing land-use efficiency with the lowered pollution density.

Keywords: CGE model, CET structure, environmental impact, land use

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Authors: Juan Manuel Uriarte Lopez, Hector Raul Guemez Gaxiola, Javier Alonso Romo Rubio, Juan Manuel Romo Valdez

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The objective of this investigation was to determine the influence of the use of recycled vegetable oil from restaurants in the productive performance of sows in lactation. Twenty-four hybrids lactating sows (Landrace x Yorkshire) were divided into three treatments with eight sows per treatment. On day 107 of gestation, the sows were moved to the mesh floor maternity cages in an environment regulated by the environment regulated (2.4 × 0.6 m) contained an area (2.4 × 0.5 m) for newborn pigs on each side, all diets were provided as a dry powder, and the sows received free access to water throughout the experimental period. After farrowing, the sows were fasted for 12 hours, the daily feed ration gradually increased, and the sows had ad libitum access to feed on the fourth day. The diets used were corn-soybean meal-based, containing 0 (CONT), recycled vegetable oil 1.0 % (RVOL), or recycled vegetable oil 1.5 % (RVOH) for 30 days. The diets contained similar calculated levels of crude protein and metabolizable energy and contained vitamins and minerals that exceeded National Research Council (1998) recommendations; sows were fed three times daily. On day 30, piglets were weaned, and performances of lactating sows and nursery piglets were recorded. Results indicated that average daily feed intake (5.58, 5.55, and 5.49 kg for CONT, RVOL, and RVO, respectively) of sows were not affected (P > 0.05) by different dietary. There was no difference in the average body weight of piglets on the day of birth, with 1.33, 1.36, and 1.35 kg, respectively (P > 0.05). There was no difference in average body weight of piglets on day 30, with 6.91, 6.75, and 7.05 kg, respectively 0.05) between treatments numbers of weaned piglets per sow (9.95, 9.80, and 9.80) were not affected by treatments (P > 0.05).In conclusion, the substitution of virgin vegetable oil for recycled vegetable oil in the diet does not affect the productive performance of lactating sows.

Keywords: lactating, sow, vegetable, oil

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Authors: Mesfin Angaw Tesfay

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L-Xylulose is a potentially valuable rare sugar used as starting material for antiviral and anticancer drug development in pharmaceutical industries. L-Xylulose exist in a very low concentration in nature and have to be synthesized from cheap starting materials such as xylitol through biotechnological approaches. In this study, cofactor engineering and deep eutectic solvent were applied to improve the efficiency of L-xylulose production from xylitol. A water-forming NAD+ regeneration enzyme (NADH oxidase) from Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175 was introduced into E. coli with xylitol-4-dehydrogenase (XDH) of Pantoea ananatis resulting in recombinant cells harboring the vector pETDuet-xdh-SmNox. Further, three deep eutectic solvents (DES) including, Choline chloride/glycerol (ChCl/G), Choline chloride/urea (ChCl/U), and Choline chloride/ethylene glycol (ChCl/EG) have been employed to facilitate the conversion efficiency of L-xylulose from xylitol. The co-expression system exhibited optimal activity at a temperature of 37 ℃ and pH 8.5, and the addition of Mg2+ enhanced the catalytic activity by 1.19-fold. Co-expression of NADH oxidase with XDH enzyme resulted in increased L-xylulose concentration and productivity from xylitol as well as the intracellular NAD+ concentration. Two of the DES used (ChCl/U and ChCl/EG) show positive effects on product yield and the ChCl/G has inhibiting effects. The optimum concentration of ChCl/U was 2.5%, which increased the L-xylulose yields compared to the control without DES. In a 1 L fermenter the final concentration and productivity of L-xylulose from 50 g/L of xylitol reached 48.45 g/L, and 2.42 g/L.h respectively, which was the highest report. Overall, this study is a suitable approach for large-scale production of L-xylulose from xylitol using the engineered E. coli cell.

Keywords: Xylitol-4-dehydrogenase, NADH oxidase, L-xylulose, Xylitol, Coexpression, DESs

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Authors: Oluwafunmibi Omotayo Fasanya, Augustine Kena Adjei

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Background and Aims: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on key metabolic and cardiovascular parameters, such as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), fasting blood sugar (FBS), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and total vitamin D levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: A systematic search was performed across databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov, from January 1990 to January 2024. A total of 4,177 relevant studies were initially identified. Using an unsupervised K-means clustering algorithm, publications were grouped based on common text features. Maximum entropy classification was then applied to filter studies that matched a pre-identified training set of 139 potentially relevant articles. These selected studies were manually screened for relevance. A parallel manual selection of all initially searched studies was conducted for validation. The final inclusion of studies was based on full-text evaluation, quality assessment, and meta-regression models using random effects. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias assessments were also performed to ensure robustness. Results: The unsupervised K-means clustering algorithm grouped the patients based on their responses to vitamin D supplementation, using key biomarkers such as HbA1C, FBS, LDL, HDL, SBP, and total vitamin D levels. Two primary clusters emerged: one representing patients who experienced significant improvements in these markers and another showing minimal or no change. Patients in the cluster associated with significant improvement exhibited lower HbA1C, FBS, and LDL levels after vitamin D supplementation, while HDL and total vitamin D levels increased. The analysis showed that vitamin D supplementation was particularly effective in reducing HbA1C, FBS, and LDL within this cluster. Furthermore, BMI, weight gain, and disease duration were identified as factors that influenced cluster assignment, with patients having lower BMI and shorter disease duration being more likely to belong to the improvement cluster. Conclusion: The findings of this machine learning-assisted meta-analysis confirm that vitamin D supplementation can significantly improve glycemic control and reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications in T2DM patients. The use of automated screening techniques streamlined the process, ensuring the comprehensive evaluation of a large body of evidence while maintaining the validity of traditional manual review processes.

Keywords: HbA1C, T2DM, SBP, FBS

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Authors: Husaini Sama

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The study was conducted, in a 120 - day’s trial, to monitor the performance of growing Rahaji bulls fed different crop residues. There were four experimental treatments, each containing three (3) bull-calves. The first three (experimental) diets were prepared with rice straw, millet stalks and a combination of the two in equal proportions. These 3 diets were supplemented with concentrates. Treatments 1, 2 and 3 consisted of rice straw, millet stalk and combination of rice straw and millet stalk in equal ratio, respectively as basal feeds, while, Treatment 4 (containing standard diet of cow pea haulms, rice straw and wheat offal) served as control to compare with the other treatments. Data on feed intake and livability was collected on daily basis and that of live weight gain and feed conversion ratio were collected fortnightly, but data on apparent nutrient retention trial was collected towards the end of the experiment. Water was offered ad libitum. Records obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS (1988) software package in accordance with a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Results obtained indicated that feed intake was significantly higher (P<0.05) for calves on treatments 3 and 4 compared to those on treatments 1and 2. The study observed that it was cheaper to formulate diets 2 and 3 than the other 2 diets. The control diet (T4) was observed to be relatively more expensive than the other 3 formulated diets. It was concluded from the findings that, concentrate containing combination of rice straw and cereal stalks was economical and satisfactory for feeding growing Rahaji bulls in this ecological zone (Semi-arid environment).

Keywords: rahaji bulls, crop residues, concentrates, semi-arid environment

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Authors: Prabir Kumar Paul, Joyeeta Mitra

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Ergosterol, is an important fungal metabolite on phylloplane which is not synthesised by plants. However, the functional requirement of ergosterol to the plants is still an enigma. Being ubiquitously present in all plants except algae needs an insight into its physiological implication. The present study aimed at understanding if and how ergosterol influences the physiology of chloroplast particularly the activity of RuBisCo and carbonic anhydrase. The concept of the study was based on one of our earlier observation of enhanced Hills reaction in plants treated with fungal metabolites which contained ergosterol. The fungal metabolite treated plants had a significantly high concentration of photosynthetic pigments. Eight-week-old tomato plants raised under aseptic conditions at 25 + 10 C, 75 % relative humidity and 12 hour L/D photoperiod. Metabolites of Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporum were sprayed on plants either singly or in a 1: 1 combination. A separate group of plants was also treated with 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0. 7.0 mg ergosterol / ml of n- heptane. Control plants were treated with sterile distilled water only. Plants were sampled at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours of treatment. RuBisCo and carbonic anhydrase was estimated from sampled leaves. RuBisCo was separated on 1D SDS-PAGE and subjected to MALDI – TOF- TOF – MS analysis. The presence of ergosterol in fungal metabolites was confirmed. Fungal metabolites significantly enhanced the concentration and activity of RuBisCo and carbonic anhydrase. The Vmax activity of the enzymes was significantly high in metabolite treated plants. 1:1 mix of metabolite was more effective than when applied individually. Insilico analysis revealed, RuBisCo subunits had a binding site for ergosterol and in its presence affinity of Co2 to the enzyme increased by several folds. Invivo activity of RuBisCo was significantly elicited by ergosterol. Results of the present study indicate that ergosterol from phylloplane microfungi probably regulates the binding of Co2 to RuBisCo along with activity of carbonic anhydrase thereby modulating the physiology of choloroplast.

Keywords: carbonic anhydrase, ergosterol, phylloplane, RuBisCo

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Authors: Stafford Stewart, Hui Yu, Rominder Suri

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This paper publishes the results of the first known study conducted in urban Philadelphia waterways that simultaneously utilized anthropogenic chemical and biological markers to identify suitable indicators of untreated human waste and fecal pollution. A total of 13 outfall samples, 30 surface water samples, and 2 groundwater samples were analyzed for fecal contamination and untreated human waste using a suite of 25 chemical markers and 5 bio-markers. Pearson rank correlation tests were conducted to establish associations between the abundances of bio-markers and the concentrations of chemical markers. Results show that 16S rRNA gene of human-associated Bacteroidales (BacH) was very strongly correlated (0.76 – 0.97, p < 0.05) with labile chemical markers acetaminophen, cotinine, estriol, and urobilin. Likewise, human-specific F- RNA coliphages (F-RNA-II) and labile chemical markers, urobilin, ibuprofen, cotinine and estriol, were significantly correlated (0.77 – 0.95, p < 0.05). Similarly, a strong positive correlation (0.67 – 0.91, p < 0.05) was evident between the abundances of bio-markers BacH and F-RNA-II, and the concentrations of the conservative markers, trimethoprim, meprobamate, diltiazem, triclocarban, metformin, sucralose, gemfibrozil, sulfamethoxazole, and carbamazepine. Human mitochondrial DNA (MitoH) correlated moderately with labile markers nicotine and salicylic acid as well as with conservative markers metformin and triclocarban (0.31 – 0.47, p<0.05). This study showed that by associating chemical and biological markers, a robust technique was developed for fingerprinting source-specific untreated waste and fecal contamination in source waters.

Keywords: anthropogenic markers, bacteroidales, fecal pollution, source waters, wastewater

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Authors: Maryam Hamlehdar, Guillermo A. Narsilio

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To enhance the feasibility of utilising geothermal hot sedimentary aquifers (HSAs) for clean hydrogen production, one approach is the implementation of solar-integrated geothermal energy systems. This detailed modelling study conducts a thermo-economic assessment of an advanced Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)-based hydrogen production system that uses low-temperature geothermal reservoirs, with a specific focus on hot sedimentary aquifers (HSAs) over a 30-year period. In the proposed hybrid system, solar-thermal energy is used to raise the water temperature extracted from the geothermal production well. This temperature increase leads to a higher steam output, powering the turbine and subsequently enhancing the electricity output for running the electrolyser. Thermodynamic modeling of a parabolic trough solar (PTS) collector is developed and integrated with modeling for a geothermal-based configuration. This configuration includes a closed regenerator cycle (CRC), proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser, and thermoelectric generator (TEG). Following this, the study investigates the impact of solar energy use on the temperature enhancement of the geothermal reservoir. It assesses the resulting consequences on the lifecycle performance of the hydrogen production system in comparison with a standalone geothermal system. The results indicate that, with the appropriate solar collector area, a combined solar-geothermal hydrogen production system outperforms a standalone geothermal system in both cost and rate of production. These findings underscore a solar-assisted geothermal hybrid system holds the potential to generate lower-cost hydrogen with enhanced efficiency, thereby boosting the appeal of numerous low to medium-temperature geothermal sources for hydrogen production.

Keywords: clean hydrogen production, integrated solar-geothermal, low-temperature geothermal energy, numerical modelling

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Authors: Pramod Jagtap, Kisan Jadhav, Neha Dand

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Risperidone (RISP) is an antipsychotic agent and has low water solubility and nontargeted delivery results in numerous side effects. Hence, an attempt was made to develop SLNs hydrogel for intranasal delivery of RISP to achieve maximum bioavailability and reduction of side effects. RISP loaded SLNs composed of 1.65% (w/v) lipid mass were produced by high shear homogenization (HSH) coupled ultrasound (US) method using glyceryl monostearate (GMS) or Imwitor 900K (solid lipid). The particles were loaded with 0.2% (w/v) of the RISP & surface-tailored with a 2.02% (w/v) non-ionic surfactant Tween® 80. Optimization was done using 32 factorial design using Design Expert® software. The prepared SLNs dispersion incorporated into Polycarbophil AA1 hydrogel (0.5% w/v). The final gel formulation was evaluated for entrapment efficiency, particle size, rheological properties, X ray diffraction, in vitro diffusion, ex vivo permeation using sheep nasal mucosa and histopathological studies for nasocilliary toxicity. The entrapment efficiency of optimized SLNs was found to be 76 ± 2 %, polydispersity index <0.3., particle size 278 ± 5 nm. This optimized batch was incorporated into hydrogel. The pH was found to be 6.4 ± 0.14. The rheological behaviour of hydrogel formulation revealed no thixotropic behaviour. In histopathology study, there was no nasocilliary toxicity observed in nasal mucosa after ex vivo permeation. X-ray diffraction data shows drug was in amorphous form. Ex vivo permeation study shows controlled release profile of drug.

Keywords: ex vivo, particle size, risperidone, solid lipid nanoparticles

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Authors: Niharika Kaushal, Minni Singh

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Fruit crops are widely cultivated throughout the World, with citrus being one of the most common. Mandarins, oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes are among the most frequently grown varieties. Citrus cultivars are industrially processed into juice, resulting in approx. 25-40% by wt. of biomass in the form of peels and seeds, generally considered as waste. In consequence, a significant amount of this nutraceutical-enriched biomass goes to waste, which, if utilized wisely, could revolutionize the functional food industry, as this biomass possesses a wide range of bioactive compounds, mainly within the class of polyphenols and terpenoids, making them an abundant source of functional bioactive. Mandarin is a potential source of bioflavonoids with putative antioxidative properties, and its potential application for developing value-added products is obvious. In this study, ‘kinnow’ mandarin (Citrus nobilis X Citrus deliciosa) biomass was studied for its flavonoid profile. For this, dried and pulverized peels were subjected to green and sustainable extraction techniques, namely, supercritical fluid extraction carried out under conditions pressure: 330 bar, temperature: 40 ̊ C and co-solvent: 10% ethanol. The obtained extract was observed to contain 47.3±1.06 mg/ml rutin equivalents as total flavonoids. Mass spectral analysis revealed the prevalence of polymethoxyflavones (PMFs), chiefly tangeretin and nobiletin. Furthermore, the antioxidant potential was analyzed by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, which was estimated to be at an IC₅₀ of 0.55μg/ml. The pre-systemic metabolism of flavonoids limits their functionality, as was observed in this study through in vitro gastrointestinal studies where nearly 50.0% of the flavonoids were degraded within 2 hours of gastric exposure. We proposed nanoencapsulation as a means to overcome this problem, and flavonoids-laden polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nano encapsulates were bioengineered using solvent evaporation method, and these were furnished to a particle size between 200-250nm, which exhibited protection of flavonoids in the gastric environment, allowing only 20% to be released in 2h. A further step involved impregnating the nano encapsulates within alginate hydrogels which were fabricated by ionic cross-linking, which would act as delivery vehicles within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. As a result, 100% protection was achieved from the pre-systemic release of bioflavonoids. These alginate hydrogels had key significant features, i.e., less porosity of nearly 20.0%, and Cryo-SEM (Cryo-scanning electron microscopy) images of the composite corroborate the packing ability of the alginate hydrogel. As a result of this work, it is concluded that the waste can be used to develop functional biomaterials while retaining the functionality of the bioactive itself.

Keywords: bioflavonoids, gastrointestinal, hydrogels, mandarins

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Authors: Samir El-Gendy, Doaa Zaghloul

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The current study dealt with the gross and microscopic anatomy of the integument of male ostrich in addition to the histological features of different areas of skin by light and SEM. The ostrich skin is characterized by prominent feather follicles and bristles. The number of feather follicles was determined per cm2 in different regions. The integument of ostrich had many modifications which appeared as callosities and scales, nail and toe pads. They were sternal, pubic and Achilles tendon callosities. The vacuolated epidermal cells were seen mainly in the skin of legs and to a lesser extent in the skin of back and Achilles areas. Higher lipogenic potential was expressed by epidermis from glabrous areas of ostrich skin. The dermal papillae were found in the skin of feathered area of neck and back and this was not a common finding in bird's skin which may give resistance against shearing forces in these regions of ostrich skin. The thickness of the keratin layer of ostrich varied, being thick and characteristically loose in the skin at legs, very thin and wavy at neck, while at Achilles skin area, scale and toe pad were thick and more compact, with the thickest very dense and wavy keratin layer at the nail. The dermis consisted of superficial layer of dense irregular connective tissue characterized by presence of many vacuoles of different sizes just under the basal lamina of the epithelium of epidermis and deep layer of dense regular connective tissue. This result suggested presence of fat droplets in this layer which may be to overcome the lack of good barrier of cutaneous water loss in epidermis.

Keywords: ostrich, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, integument, skin modifications

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Authors: M. K. Mzuza, W. Zhang, L. S. Chapola, M. Tembo

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Shire River is the largest and longest river in Malawi emptying its water into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Siltation is now a major problem in the Shire River due to catchment degradation. This study analysed soil samples from tributaries of the Shire River to determine sources of sediments that cause siltation using the mineral magnetic approach. Bulk sediments and separated particle size fractions of representative samples were collected from tributaries on the western and eastern sides of the Shire River, and Nkula Dam. Eastern tributaries showed relatively higher ferrimagnetic mineral contents and ferrimagnetic to anti ferromagnetic ratios than western tributaries. Sediments from both sides of the Shire River were distinguished by χARM, SIRM versus χlf and S-100 versus SIRM. Findings in this study showed that most of the sediments originated from the western part of the Shire River. Tributaries on the eastern side of the Shire River had higher values for concentration related parameters (χlf, χfd, χARM, SIRM, HIRM, S-100, and χARM/SIRM) than tributaries on the western side. Bulky and detailed magnetic measurements carried out on particle size fractions provided additional confirmation of magnetic contrasts between the two sides of the river suggesting differences in lithology, topography, climate and weather regimes in the catchments. This study demonstrated that the magnetic approach can provide a reliable means of understanding major sediment sources of Nkula Dam and similar situations. It can also help to assess future variations in sediment composition resulting from catchment changes

Keywords: ferrimagnetic minerals, Shire River, tributaries rivers, particle size , topography

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